Awaking from a long sleep, Gaia, the spirit of the earth, found the world struggling to survive with humanity carelessly abusing it. Realizing that the damage went beyond a few messes, Gaia decided to summon the power of five rings, each with the power to control an element of nature. Gaia sent the rings to five chosen youths across the globe: Kwame, Wheeler, Linka, Gi, and Ma-ti. These five were dubbed "The Planeteers" and were given the task of protecting the earth from the greatest of disasters and doing their part to keep others from happening. The five teenagers, who each come from a different region and represent several major ethnic groups, are each given rings that allow them to temporarily control the four classical elements Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water, as well as a fifth one, Heart, that represents love and communication and enables telepathy.